1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a paddle tennis court in general and in particular to the construction of the deck of said court.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Paddle tennis has become increasingly popular in the United States over the last several years. Accordingly, there has been increased interest in the manufacture of paddle tennis courts. To be commercially successful, a paddle tennis court has to be inexpensive to manufacture, relatively simple to erect and easy to maintain.
The prior art discloses a variety of different court constructions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,108 issued on May 14, 1968 to R. J. Reilly, Jr. discloses a Paddle Tennis Court having a wooden deck. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 2,205,398 issued on June 25, 1940 to H. V. Eaton, II, discloses a forerunner of the modern court.
One of the major features of any paddle tennis court is the deck. There are several prior art references related to portable floors and decks. One such early disclosure is U.S. Pat. No. 1,546,130 issued on July 14, 1925 to J. H. Hannay.
The preferred embodiment of the invention comprehends the use of modified I beams as supporting members for the deck surface structure. The I beams and deck surface structure are connected together through a series of clamps. Insofar as can be determined, the structure of the present invention is no where disclosed or suggested by the prior art. However, there are some prior art references which do relate to connecting I beam-like members together. For example, French Pat. No. 1,254,372 to Keller discloses in FIGS. 2 and 4 thereof, a structure for connecting I beams together. Specifically, the Keller patent discloses I beams having depressions therein for engagement with interlocking elements 22 and 24.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,823 to Dodge is of interest in that it discloses a clamp structure 18 having a foot 20 and a channel portion 15.
Other possibly relevant U.S. Pat. Nos. are the following: 406,048 to Kinnear; 555,981 to Streeter; 1,367,683 to Bentley; 2,080,916 to Hayden; 2,813,310 to Harrison; 2,820,613 to Schilling; 3,062,339 to Geyser; 3,203,151 to Bransford, Jr.; 2,848,088 to Tofanelli and 2,071,865 to Parsons. Of possible interest also is Italian Pat. No. 606,942 issued to Tito Navarrini.